Sovereign

“The LSS Mech, once perfected, would complement armored warfare in ways we would not expect.”

- General Victor Albrecht, the Great War.

+++

West Orland

City of Eutstadt

Nia dropped another fat stack of paperwork on Amelie’s desk. Immediately, as was always natural, the Queen’s calm demeanor turned to that of a groaning annoyance, as Nia giggled at her tired reaction.

“Quite frankly, at this point, you should get used to it, Amelie.”

“I am. Still, at this point, this is getting old,” Amelie replied before she took the first document from the top of the paper. Naturally, the first report, at the very top, was about the frontline casualties on the last day. Seven hundred. Amelie sighed at that, even now that the frontlines were solidified and in stalemate, hundreds of her men were still dying daily even without any major offensives from both sides.

The next report didn’t bode well either. It was from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and it briefed her about the current alignments of the members of the Mandate of Nations. It seemed that most monarchies of Pollos were still ambivalent at the idea of a unified military alliance, with many countries already citing grievances with each other to even “consider” the idea of fighting side by side with them.

Disunity will be our ultimate downfall. Amelie didn’t like the idea of that. The revolutionaries, while in theory, disunited, had so far shown that they would be willing to settle their differences for a global coalition. While most pro-women countries left were either paralyzed or too angry with each other to cooperate, the pro-male revolutionaries were a radically different beast. Except for Lieplatz, I suppose. They seemed to be in the path of being culled by their brotherly nations. Even the Republic of Asturia and the Confederation have now denounced their actions.

Amelie sped through more of the documents, all of them detailing the situation in the economy, the mobilization, the potential hotspots of “traitorous activities”, RIU intel, the convoys that were raided in the high seas, the possible locations of the ONS Matriarch, the current intel about the alignments of the Members of Parliament regarding the female conscription deadlock…

Time almost bled through her morning, passing by as if it was nothing, as she ate her morning cereal beside her.

Peace really does seem difficult to achieve. Amelie thought to herself. It was simply disappointing how almost everything that could go wrong was happening, disrupting her efforts to win and thus, enforcing the peace that her Kingdom and people needed. At some point, she was asking her mother about what exactly could she do at this point, until Amelie remembered that her mother also dragged the Kingdom to a war.

And so, Amelie briefly tried to ask the Goddess. Now, she had never been that religious. Quite frankly, church duties were something that Amelie shirked, almost avoiding the Arcanist Church at every opportunity she could. The idea of separation of church and state had been a long-running debate in Orland after all. It was the greatest weak link of the ideology of Arcanist Democracy, even for women.

Because in many ways, it was a massive contradiction in their “benevolent system”. How could Orland be democratic, ruled by its “magically capable people” when the Goddess and her appointed Monarch technically had the final say? The UOP had always been split in half by it, and for centuries, it was essentially what divided Orland’s female voting class. Should the Goddess have a role in the country, and by extension, the Queen, to such an extent?

Or should the Parliament and Prime Minister be the ultimate rulers of the Kingdom, relegating the Queen and the Goddess to ceremonial duties? Before male republicanism “united’ the UOP a few decades ago, that was the issue that divided the nation. But Amelie had always been firmly on the side of the Queen and the Goddess having some form of executive power.

Mainly, because when she was younger, she genuinely had megalomaniac fantasies of controlling the Kingdom, as she was the future Queen. Surely, she deserved it! At least, until she went to University, and found herself schooled by liberal professors, and now, here, when she was in a complete crisis she could not hear the Goddess’ advice on how to deal with it.

I mean, what even is the point of letting the Goddess dictate the Kingdom if she isn’t going to help us steer it to the right path? And with that, why should someone like her, a mere hereditary monarch, hold the power to steer the nation because she was appointed by the same absent entity?

“Amelie, actually, did you remember your schedule for today?” Nia asked, perking up from her table, away from her computer, as she was also dealing with some of the paperwork herself. Amelie shook her head innocently in response, as Nia sighed. “Hah…this is why you really needed someone like me.”

“Well, do you remember it?” Amelie asked.

“Of course, I always note it down,” she scrolled through her mouse wheel before she turned her monitor in Amelie’s direction. “Here, at 10:30 AM, the OAF Mech Design Bureau will be meeting you to show you their new design.”

Amelie totally forgot that. Yeah…the new design. Hmm, something about an even lighter version of the LSS Mech. Improved too. Amelie nodded, as she took a sip of her tea. She looked at the time on her watch. 9:24 AM. “We still have an hour. I’ll prepare then.”

Nia nodded, as both of them stood up. Amelie would need to see this one.

+++

Amelie nodded at William, noticing that he was waiting for her at the entrance of the demonstration room. Amelie looked down at her watch, noting that it was only 10:25 AM. At least I’m not late this time. She already developed a reputation for being always late at meetings after all, something which became the norm back when she was at the Queen’s Bunker.

“They’re just finishing their preparations,” William said. “The mech they created seems interesting.”

“That so? I wonder, what exactly is it? And how it’s going to contribute to the war effort. I mean, even now, I still don’t fully understand how the LSS Mech differed in usage from our Löwes.”

“Again, doctrinally, we use them in urban areas because they can use their legs to provide fire support from unconventional positions,” William said. “But you see, the thing is, while the LSS Mech is fast, its acceleration is slow. It’s also not that maneuverable. Well, it’s better than a tank, but it could be better. But more importantly, it’s prone to sinking.”

“Sinking?”

“Considering that you are planning on attacking the State of Lieplatz, we’d have to figure out a way to get these things working well on the thick snow, or through the scattered mountain ranges of Lieplatz. They must be light enough. They need to be lighter.”

“I see…” Amelie understood that. Snow, and perhaps, once the winter season ended, mud. Legs wouldn’t do well in those conditions. Especially if these mechs were to be in the field for extended periods of time. Amelie could imagine that those legs might freeze or worse when sunk under snow for too long.

And especially mud afterward.

Soon, the doors opened, and Amelie was led inside the presentation room. The mechanics, scientists, and corporate officials all held a smile as she shook hands with them one by one. All while the cameras focused on her, taking both pictures and videos. Up ahead, on the stage, lit up by stage lights, was a machine covered by what appeared to be a grey textile. By this point, the Defense Minister, Archduchess Pristina Dubois, also arrived, and stood beside Amelie, as the announcer began greeting everyone in the halls.

“Your Majesty, how are you today?” She asked, and Amelie smiled.

“Quite excited. I’m not sure if that’s how I’m supposed to feel about them unveiling a new war machine to kill people, but…I suppose the path to peace is greater violence to win. I hope this one will help us through the war.”

“I heard that it only requires one pilot,” the Archduchess said. “And, the fact that it’s actually a design already being developed for three years.”

“So before the Civil War, and before I was crowned.”

“Some say, the Federal Republic is already producing their own version of it,” the Archduchess said. “I hope it’s not too revolutionary.”

“I hope so too. We’re behind them with this one, after all.”

Amelie began clapping, as everyone else did, all while the textile that covered it was pulled, as the spotlights turned to it, lighting it up for the audience. Amelie was struck at how it looked, it really looked like a grey spider. Though, instead of that, it only had four legs, in comparison to the LSS Phanter’s six. Moreover, she noticed that the main gun and turret were significantly smaller, almost similar to the IFVs that the OAF employed.

General Victor Albrecht walked to the stage, into the podium, and looked directly at the Queen. “Your Majesty, welcome to this presentation. I’m going to be brief, this thing may look smaller, and less armored, but we believe it will be a nasty one.”

“General, may I ask, why…that design choice?” Amelie said as he smirked.

“Your Majesty, we present to you the LSS-2 ‘Parasite’ Mech. This…your majesty, is a direct improvement to the first iteration of the LSS ‘Panther’ Mech. Lighter, faster, more reliable, deadlier, but most importantly…it only requires one crew.”

He moved away from the podium, and went in front of the mech, presenting it directly with his hands, merely using his loud voice to speak to the audience. “This, Your Majesty, is the four legs of the LSS-2 ‘Parasite’. Due to its smaller size, supporting six legs became impossible, and redundant. But its propulsion system is greatly enhanced, and this bad boy should reach a hundred and twenty kilometers on a flat terrain. As well as improved 3D movement. Expect this thing to be climbing buildings and mountains like no other.”

He then pointed at the two missile pods on the two sides of its turret. “This, on the other hand, is the Light Anti-Tank Missile Pod System, or LATMPS. These two hold a total of eight MGM-22 ATGMs, capable of defeating armored threats. Its main gun is the Porter Type-12 50mm chaingun, capable of firing both HEI-T and APFSDS-T rounds, good for both shredding infantry and light armor.”

“Wait, but why the smaller main gun?” Amelie asked. “Shouldn’t it be...larger, for anti-tank roles?"

“Indeed it does, Your Majesty. But you see, the thing about the LSS-2 ‘Parasite’, is that its propulsion system is designed to move rapidly, thus, making a larger main gun impractical. And what does 'LSS' stand for anyway? Light Support System. This isn't meant to duel MBTs in open ground. It will use its 50mm autocannon to shred it from flanking attacks, or the MGM-22 ATGM if need be. All of it would be possible due to its extreme all-terrain mobility. Thus, the perfect all-rounder support weapon system for our ground forces.

“Wait, how heavy is it?”

The General paused, before smiling. “Fourteen tonnes, Your Majesty. That’s how light this small mech is. There is no armor here. But it is fast. Perfect for men looking for the most efficient way of killing their enemies, and at dying quickly if he makes a mistake.”